Hro Talak
Hro Talak was the Thanagarian Commander who led an invasion on Earth. History Thanagarian Invasion Hro Talak dispatched Hawkgirl on a secret mission to study Earth's defenses. Five years later, Talak led his Thanagarian forces to invade Earth, under the pretense of strengthening the planet's defenses against a supposedly imminent Gordanian attack. Under his command, the Thanagarians started to build an apparatus, which was supposed to project a protective force shield around the planet. However, the machine was in reality a means to turn Earth into a link in a chain of several hyperspace bypasses, which would allow the Thanagarians to penetrate the Gordanians' defense system and wipe them out permanently. Hro Talak overrode the planet's defense systems, imposed Martial Law and enlisted forced human labor to finish the contraption. Talak was betrothed to Hawkgirl, who aided him until she found out that such approach would result in the destruction of Earth. After Hawkgirl was arrested for treason, Hro Talak confronted her about her feelings for him. He pleaded her to renounce any feeling she might have had for John Stewart and admit she loved him instead. However, Hawkgirl simply offered herself in exchange for the safety of Earth. Enraged, Hro Talak spurned her and carried on with his plan, thinking that she might forget the Green Lantern once Earth was destroyed. When John attempted to deactivate the force field guarding the generator bypass before Batman crashed the Watchtower into it, Talak engaged him in combat. During the fight, he managed to destroy John's Power Ring, and nearly killed him, if not for Hawkgirl stepping in on time. Talak fought her off, and finally put his feelings for Hawkgirl behind him. John then provoked Talak, tricking him into destroying the force field that protected the deactivation switch. After the generator bypass was destroyed by Batman, Hro Talak declared defeat and retreated from Earth. Fall of Thanagar Upon returning to Thanagar, he discovered that the Gordanians had attacked and, with the fleets off waiting for his orders to attack the Gordainan Homeworld, the battle was over, and Thanagar had fallen. Nevertheless, Hro Talak relentlessly engaged and destroyed a dozen Gordanian Battleships. However, his entire fleet was destroyed, so he sent Paran Dul, Kragger and a few warriors to flee for safety in a scout ship. Finally, Hro Talak sacrificed himself, flying his ship on a suicide run to destroy the Gordanian flagship. His ship hit the Gordanian ship's weapons emitter just as it fired, and the resulting explosion destroyed both ships, along with the entire Gordanian fleet in orbit of the planet. Though it was a Pyrrhic victory, the Gordanians won; the Thanagarians were lost. Legacy Despite the defeat of the Thanagarian Empire and Hro Talak's death, Paran Dul, Kragger and a squadron of rogue Thanagarians later returned to Earth in order to exact revenge on Shayera, whom they blamed for their loss. Shayera was shocked upon hearing of Hro Talak's demise, and she admitted to Vixen that she still loved him. Dialogue during the battle also made it clear that a resistance was in action back on Thanagar, and that Kragger and Paran Dul were part of it. Personality Hro Talak didn't look at ethics to protect his people, and was willing to sacrifice an entire planet in the process. This coldhearted fixation to defeat the Gordanians resulted from Hro Talak having been captured and tortured by the Gordanians at one point, leaving him physically and physiologically scarred. Therefore, while he is undeniably villainous, he is more of an anti-hero/tragic villain than a true villain, as unlike most of the Justice League's adversaries, he is driven by determination to protect his people and loved ones, but is still not above stepping on or even killing others to achieve his goals. Despite his villainous traits, he ultimately found redemption when he sacrificed himself to destroy a Gordanian mothership, despite knowing that his home planet has already fallen and is beyond saving. Background Information Originally, Hro Talak was intended to be Katar Hol, the DC Silver Age Hawkman. However, the creative team feared that fans might reject the idea of Hawkman being a villain. Therefore, they decided to create a new character based on the original one (note how "Hro Talak" is an anagram of "Katar Hol"). Talak may also be based on Fel Andar, a villainous Thanagarian who posed as Hawkman to gain the trust of the Justice League. Victor Rivers is the voice of Hro Talak. According to the commentary track of Starcrossed, Part III", he felt uncomfortable doing the scenes where Hro was beating Hawkgirl. Rivers, having been along with his mother the victim of an abusive father, is a leading crusader against domestic violence. Appearances *"In Blackest Night" *"Starcrossed" *"Hunter's Moon" Talak, Hro Talak, Hro Talak, Hro